As I type this, it is 8:15 pm Eastern time. So most of you are preparing for whatever 4th of July fireworks you are viewing. We are in Bellevue Washington, near Seattle. And since it does not get dark here until later than the DC area, we will not be viewing any fireworks until 10 pm Pacific time.
We survived the Loneliest Road and reached South Lake Tahoe. We got really excited as we entered the state of California as we were closing in on the half way point and most westward destination of our trip within a few days (San Francisco). South Lake Tahoe, and the Lake Tahoe area in general was gorgeous. The Sierra Mountains were back drop to the extremely blue waters of Lake Tahoe. Once again we wished we could have spent more time at another location. But this was really a stop over on our way to Yosemite. We stayed at The Inn by The Lake which was across the main street from the Lake. The temperatures were lovely with low humidity.
Saturday morning I walked to get us some bagels and coffee and was taken by how beautiful the scenery was. I did not get a chance to go down to the beach but Neil had gone the night before and said it was not very deep and there were lots of pebbles and rocks along the shore. I will have to post some of the dramatic sunset photos he took. It is clearly a place for the out doorsy type, as there were acres of camp grounds that I passed and all kinds of rental places for kayaks, boats, hiking, biking etc....I had to resist going into an interesting yarn store near the bagel place, knowing that my family's blood sugar would srop to dangerously low levels, and mass crankiness would ensue. And we had another decent day of driving to get to Yosemite so I had to avoid my curiousity for this shop. We all decided that it would be great fun to return to this town. Although, the list of places we would like to either return to or stay longer is growing so long and we never do know when we will have the time to do so!
The ride to Yosemite was beautiful as we drove through the Sierra Mountains. We took the Carson Pass, which was a "long-cut" but well worth it. We saw a few more lakes and some snow capped mountains. It is so hard to get used to the idea of snow capped mountains in late June or July (in the case of Seattle). We stayed in Fish Camp California, which is a small town located in the mountains about 5 or 10 miles from one of the entrances to Yosemite. We stayed in the Tenaya Lodge Resort which was an attractive lodge set tucked into the alpine forest near the park. And the added bonus of laundry machines was very appealing.
We had one full day to see what we could see in what we learned was a HUGE park! I basically tried to order what literature I could before we left town, and had a National Parks guide book, along with a few other great travel guide books. I have tried to research a few days before each location to scout out what we might focus on while visiting each location we visit. The months leading up to our trip were just so busy neither of us had much time to do any extensive research. So I find Yosemite in one guide book, which quotes a Park Ranger as saying "I would weep" when asked what should one try to see in one day at Yosemite. After being there, I realize a person could spend a week there and still be exploring so many wonderful things. We were able to do about four of the main attractions before the gang pooped out. We first took a quick look at the giant Sequoias in Mariposa Grove. We did not have time to do the full hike to see some of the well known trees, but we got a pretty good idea of how amazing these trees are from hiking part of the trail. We have photos I will post later of Fiona and Owen in front of them and it puts their size in perspective. I think my favorite photo is of Fiona holding a giant pine cone that is about one foot long!
Then we drove up to Glacier Point to view the Half Dome, and the giant waterfalls and valley below. It is as breathtaking as the Grand Canyon. And it is surreal when you take photos of the kids with this amazing backdrop of these icons of nature behind them. We took a group photo of them that may well be our Groundhog day card (or maybe I will actually make Christmas cards this year!).
After Glacier Point, we drove down to the valley to see El Capitan, Yosemite Falls, and one of the other larger falls known as the Bridalveil Falls. Like the Grand Canyon, there are people from all over the world here. There is a multitude of things for a family or group of people to do. We saw groups floating down a river in the valley, picnicking along different venues, and biking, hiking, climbing and photographing everything around them. There are art classes and photography workshops offered each week as well. We visited the Ansel Adams Gallery which showcased his photography of many of the famous sites of Yosemite. I felt compelled to buy his autobiography. It is turning out to be a very interesting read when I have the brain capacity to read! He grew up right outside of San Francisco during the turn of the last century and his memories of early San Fransisco have been a nice compliment to our visit to that city.
Neil rented a bike at the lodge and took a ride near our hotel. I held my breath till he returned since there are all kinds of warnings about wildlife. I envisioned Neil encountering a bear or mountain lion so I was relieved when he returned! As a side note, when we pulled into the lodge the valet asked Patrick if he wanted to park the van himself that we needed to take ALL the food and drink out of the car as the bears were able to break into the car! We opted for them to park the car, which did not cost anything but the time it took to ask them to bring the car around and the tip (Refer to Cash is King post!) for the valet guy at drop off and pick up. Obviously we opted for them to valet the car in the secured lot. I had purchased about 200 dollars of various Sam's Club individually packed snacks, now stowed away in the above seat storage areas of the van that would certainly smell like an all you can eat buffet to a bear. They also said that there had been a bear sited in the valet area in the previous days! So it was with lots of prayers that I sent Neil on his way with the rented bike.
I can see why many people recommended staying in the Valley of Yosemite because you have less driving to do, you would have views of the various famous locations, and you are actually in the park, so no need to do as much driving to get to some of the more famous sites. Should we ever return to Yosemite we would try that option. But we were booking everything pretty last minute and were happy to find a fine establishment near the entrance. We also found that the crowds were not as bad as we feared they would be. We left the hotel in time to arrive shortly after the park opened so parking and paths were not too crowded. By the time everyone had had enough, it was close to 3 and we headed the 40 miles back to our lodge. So we did a pretty good one day tour of the main attractions despite reading how hard and or disappointing that might be.
And Pat handled having to drive all day like a good sport. It was about his 7th day in a row of driving switchbacks through the mountains. I asked him if he feels like he is turning back and forth in his sleep much like a person who has been on a boat all day feels like they are bobbing in their bed all night.
From Yosemite we headed to San Francisco. The temperatures hovered around 100 degrees once we descended from the mountains and headed west. We were back on the interstates at the end which makes for a faster drive, but much less interesting view in most cases. About an hour or so outside of the Oakland/San Francisco area we saw an even larger group of windmills than we had seen in Texas. It really looked like someting out of a science fiction movie! There were many more than we had seen in Texas. And they were closer to the road.
As we approached the Oakland and San Francisco area the temps slowly dropped into the high 70's and there was a great breeze. We stayed at the St Francis Hotel on Union Square and were lucky enough to be on the 10th floor with a view of the square. We had the windows cracked most of our stay and it felt good to feel the bay breeze and hear all the commotion below. We were high up enough that it was kind of like urban white noise.
San Francisco almost immediately moved to their top three places we have visited! I think the cable cars, Chinatown, and the Fisherman's Wharf were all big hits. We took the cable car to Fisherman's Wharf the first afternoon and ended up finding a nice restaurant on the edge of the Wharf area to eat an early dinner. We walked over to the Hyde Street Pier after dinner and got a look from afar of Alcatraz. The sun was starting to set and it was a lovely way to end our evening tour.
I will only go on about the trolleys with one story which supports Patrick's observations about the trolleys. I think Patrick gave a perfect description of how endearing the trolley ride experience is, along with the quirky accounting system used for collecting fares, amongst other observations. I can provide a perfect example of said accounting practices. On our last night, Patick had gotten off at the correct stop while the girls and I kept riding (My fault...I got talking with a person from Maryland who still had a place on the Eastern Shore even though he lived in SF full time) a few blocks. The girls and I were on the outside benches (Fiona, the wild child, loved riding on the outside benches) and Patrick had gone to the back of the trolley when we go on. The guy running the trolley asked for our tickets a few blocks past the stop I was supposed to have gotten off and I pointed to the back saying that my husband had our tickets. The guy never asked which guy I meant or what he looked like or if it was a one way ticket etc....he just shrugged his shoulders and said Ok. I was grateful for this laid back attitude as I did not have any cash on me to buy a ticket had he pushed the point! It was then that I realized that I had ridden the trolley too long and we got off at the next stop. Unfortunately it was a really steep up hill walk back to Powell Street which would lead us to our hotel. I guess that is what I get for not paying attention! The girls were good sports about having this walk back. Since Tierney missed the closing of the fitness center I teased her that this was a way better workout than the treadmill. My shins felt the hills we walked the two and a half days we were in Frisco.
Chinatown was a big hit. We somehow found a Japanese Sushi place in Chinatown that had sushi plates available on little boats floating around the parimeter of the sushi bar. Neil had heard about the sushi bars that had a conveyor belt going around the bar so this was even more exotic. With four kids it was hard to keep track of how many plates they were grabbing. When you get your check, the waitress counts up each size plates we had collected and any drinks or custom orders we placed. There are signs with the prices of each plate next to it so you have an idea of what you grand total might be. This was a big hit with all the kids.
We wandered a little more in Chinatown and found a barber shop for Owen to get his hair trimmed. He had been patiently asking for a hair cut since NOLA but we had not had much luck finding one up until now. His hair cut cost 5 dollars! I do not know anywhere you can get a hair cut for 5 dollars! She must have spent a good 25 minutes on his hair and shaping the edges with a razor.
We then went down to the Ferry Building on the water front. This building has been around for more than a 120 years and was badly damaged from the earthquake in 1989. It was renovated in the mid 1990s and the building was reopened around 2000 as a market for produce, meats, flowers, wines and crafts. I think the beauty and purpose of this was lost on the three older kids who kept asking why were here and what are we looking at. Fiona, as usual, has the excitement that only a younger child can have as there are simple joys found anywhere when you are 7! There were pigeons to chase on the outside walkway! Or course that was why we had taken the trolley from Chinatown to this walkway, right?
We regrouped at the hotel for some rest and relxation before we headed back out for dinner. I summoned the help of my Roadfood book which had a few places of interest listed in the San Francisco area. We opted for a locals' favorite called Sam's Grill that was only open Monday through Friday for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It ended up being a gem of a find. We were a little nervous when we saw the tuxedoed waiters, the antique millwork, the linen table cloths and the quiet ambience. But once our waiter, Walter, came over to get our drink order any fears about bringing our family of six, including four casually- dressed kids were put aside. Walter was charming and funny and ended up having us meeting and laughing it up with the older couple seated near us. By the end of the evening we had learned that Jane and Aaron had been coming to Sam's Grill for 57 years. They had been married for 55 years and joked that a few of their most memorable marital battles took place at Sam's Grill. They had both grown up in the area and ended up inviting us to visit them at their beach home the next day on our way out of town (they had a home in San Francisco too at which they were staying that evening. We really would loved to have met up with them but they had a place on the coast about 45 minutes from the hotel and off the route we needed to take. It woudl have been fun. She told us about her family taking a big driving trip and seeing the Grand Canyon right after the WW II. She said she had not seen her dad in years because he had been away as a doctor in the war. Interesting to think how different her driving trip was over 50 years ago when you consider there were no seat belts used, no AC, and no TV with satellite or DVD player! Our kids would never have made it past the first few days! Jane and Aaron seemed to know not only our waiter Walter, but a number of the fellow patrons as well.
The city was great and had a lot of character. There were alot of homeless people and just street characters/performers in general. Much like the people we saw in NOLA and San Antonio. We saw a few homeless looking folks wandering around Santa Fe, but unlike the other cities where it was more prevelant, there is not a lot of public transportation to get you to Santa Fe. So I suspect that had something to do with that. There were street performers in Santa Fe with their hat or instrument case open looking for tips.
The next day we all "Left our hearts in San Francisco" as the story says. Sorry. Couldn't help it!
We headed to Seattle via Eugene Oregon. I have to admit I had kind of been making fun of poor Eugene prior to arriving because none of the tourbooks I consulted had much to say about it. It ended up being a quaint little friendly town that (you guessed it!) we wished we could have gotten to know better. We did not get into town until nearly 9. It was deceiving because it was so light out. We had a great early dinner on our way to Eugene so that was a good thing since the hotel restaurant was closing when we arrived. Room service was still serving so we ordered something light in our room.
The next morning Patrick, Fiona and I explored the town a little and got a bite to eat for breakfast. Tienrey opted to use the fitness center while the boys opted for more sleep. We found a little breakfast place that was part of a market area where I also found some proper thread and needles for the patch project that three of us are doing on this trip. I had been trying to make due with sewing patches (every park and most cities have them) onto our back packs with the sewing kits provided by the hotels. The needles and thread in these kits are really meant for sewing on stray buttons and small mending projects. Not for sewing thick patches that in some cases have the iron on patch glue on the back which makes them even thicker and harder to pass the needle through. And we found how useful thimbles can be! Neil and I had punctured our fingers on many occasions while trying to shove said needles through the patches. So I got us proper needles, thimbles and thread to keep up with this growing project. I am sewing on Fiona's and my patches while I told Neil he can do his own. Tierney and Owen opted for a much easier and cheaper thing to collect: postcards!
We loaded up the van once again to head to Seattle. On our way to Seattle we stopped at Salem, Oregon to take a quick peek at the State Capitol building. Patrick and I were both amazed that there was no formal security procedure or screening other than walking past a guard who looked half awake in front of the building. Having been to a few Capitol buildings over the years it is usually an airport style screening machine at a minimum, along with an officer checking any bags. This guy was more like a Walmart greeter. And there was a store inside selling all things Oregon, except the patches we had been collecting. It turns out that a troup of Boy Scouts had toured the building earlier that week and cleaned out their supply!
Our biggest traffic jam, to date, was in none other than Portland, Oregon! It took us 2 hours to get through Portland. The 205 was shut down and everyone had to take the 5....add a few fender benders and some peoples with car trouble and it made for quite a long trip through Portland. Portland reminded us of Pittsburgh as it had numerous bridges. Once we got through the city, traffic moved at a regular pace. We then tried to figure out where to have dinner......we concluded that Centralia, Washington would be the place. And after passing a less than appealing first mile or two into town we came upon a beautiful little main street area with a restaurant called the Gibson House that was wonderful. The only bad thing that happened is that our waitress must have dropped our tray with our dinners so we had to wait extra time to get the newly made replacement dinners. Patrick figured it out when another waitress commented upon helping our waitress that she wanted to make sure that she didn't drop her tray again. This delay combined with our traffic jam in Portland, made our arrival to Bellevue much later than expected. With the sun staying up later in these parts it didn't make too much difference. And the meal was worth the wait.
Fiona has been patiently waiting for the computer (Nick.com provides hours of entertainment!) and I am afraid I could become boring by driveling on too long. So I will save my observations and our experiences of Seattle for another time. I would say later tonight, but I am sure that after waiting to see the 10PM fireworks display and packing up for tomorrow's arduous journey to Missoula, Montana I will most certainly be brain dead. We went into Seattle both yesterday and today so there are too many tales to tell right now!
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